Your week in review: August 9

Former President George W. Bush's health, Alex Rodriguez's suspension, White Bulger's fate and Nidal Hasan's court martial were all in the news this week. (Source: Wikipedia Commons/CNN/U.S. Marshals Service/ U.S. Army/MGN Online)

(RNN) – U.S. military troops are on high alert as 19 diplomatic posts and embassies remain closed. The closure is related to an intercepted call from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri to al-Qaeda deputy Nasir al Wuhayshi to "do something" in the form of an attack in Yemen.

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was suspended by Major League Baseball on Monday, along with 12 other players. The suspension - 211 games through the 2014 season - is the longest non-gambling sentence ever levied on a player. The suspension stems from an investigation that alleges Rodriguez used performance enhancing drugs.

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos purchased the Washington Post for $250 million on Monday. His purchase of the newspaper did not come from Amazon, but from Bezos himself. The announcement came days after The New York Times Company announced they sold the Boston Globe to investor and Boston Red Sox majority owner John W. Henry.

A spokesman for former President George W. Bush announced that the 43rd president had a stent implanted to alleviate an artery blockage on Tuesday. The procedure went without incident, and Bush was released to go home on Wednesday.

The court martial of accused Fort Hood shooter and Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan began on Tuesday. Hasan has admitted to the shooting that killed 19 soldiers and wounded 32 in November 2009. Many of the soldiers, including Hasan, were going to be deployed to Afghanistan. Hasan is representing himself during the proceedings, but has been supplied a legal defense team by the Army.

The fate of repute mobster James "Whitey" Bulger is in the hands of a Massachusetts jury. Jurors began deliberations on Tuesday after seven weeks of court testimony. Bulger, 83, is accused of several counts of money laundering, extortion and 19 murders. Bulger pleaded not guilty.

The home of admitted kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro was demolished on Wednesday. The home that resided on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland was torn down in front of a large crowd, including kidnapping victim Michelle Knight. Castro was sentenced to life, plus 1,000 years in a plea bargain that averted a trial and took the death penalty off the table.

This great land of ours turned 238 years old Friday.What do you get an old lady who has seen it all, done it all and lived to tell the story according to her own narrative? The answer, obviously, is a rapping George Washington.More >>

This great land of ours turned 238 years old Friday.What do you get an old lady who has seen it all, done it all and lived to tell the story according to her own narrative? The answer, obviously, is a rapping George Washington.More >>